Noah Hawley, writer and director of the upcoming Far Cry TV series, said he will not directly adapt any existing Far Cry games. Instead, he plans his own interpretation of the Far Cry story. Hawley explained his approach in early May 2026, stating, "I'm not specifically adapting any of the games that they've put out. I'm saying much as I did with the Coens or X-Men or Alien, 'Let me have a dialog with this franchise, because this is what I think a Far Cry story is'" [1].
Hawley also argued that videogame storytelling does not translate well to television. He said, "Games are built in a way that doesn't make for the best drama. When you play a videogame, you only really move forward through the gameplay section, and then you have these cutscenes that you can skip, so when you go to adapt those games you have to be aware that makes the human drama kind of irrelevant to the storyline. That is death for a show" [1].
These comments sparked a public response from Alex Hutchinson, director of Far Cry 4. Shortly after Hawley's remarks, Hutchinson took to LinkedIn and gave an IGN interview to defend the narrative value of videogames. He said, "Gamers just want to feel their loves are respected, not dismissed, as they often were historically" [1].
Hutchinson acknowledged that the player's story takes primacy but emphasized that theme, setting, and character drive player engagement. "Story is a complex topic in games. Theme, setting, character are all key to story and are certainly drivers of player engagement so, even if they're skipping some cinematics, they are deeply engaged in narrative as they occupy a role and move through a designed space," he said [1].
He highlighted improvements in writing and production quality in recent games, citing titles like Resident Evil Requiem and Far Cry as evidence of games' growing narrative importance [1].
The debate underscores contrasting views on how videogame stories translate to linear formats like TV. Hawley’s series is still in development, with further details expected as the project progresses [1].
